Lenovo releases Android powered LePad at CES 2011

As expected, companies are launching Android tablets like anything at CES. After Asus’s tablet series, we now have Lenovo’s Android device. This interesting device features a detachable tablet LePad, which normally runs on Android 2.2, but as soon as you plug it in keyboard, it switches to Windows 7 for normal laptop operations. It is dubbed as Lenovo IdeaPad U1 with LePad.

“Our IdeaPad U1 and LePad truly fits the mobile lifestyle,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. “Use the light-weight slate when you’re mobile, and then simply slide it into the U1 base when you need to do content creation. Consumers shouldn’t have to adapt their lifestyle to technology, and this product definitely gives them the best of both worlds.”

Lenovo LePad features a 10.1-inch touch screen, 3G, front-facing camera for video chat, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor, up to eight hours of battery life, Android 2.2. Lenovo has customized the LePad slate with an optimized Android media experience on LePad’s larger screen size, starting with an attractive 4-pane easy to use interface and a distinctive Lenovo developed push service that gives you your email, news, and other content in real time, eliminating the need to constantly open a browser and log in.

Lenovo IdeaPad U1 with LePad will be available in China by the end of March but won’t be available in the United States until Android 3.0 is available. Lenovo LePad slate can also be purchased separately from the U1 Base. The LePad slate starts at approximately RMB 3,499 (approximately US$ 520), and the U1 hybrid laptop starts at approximately RMB 8,888 (approximately US$ 1,300).